Mount Vesuvius and Herculaneum Scrolls

What percentage of characters did they need to decode to win?

How many characters are contained in each passage that needed to be decoded?

What is the cash prize being offered for the decoding of the scrolls?

Who is attributed as the author of the decoded passages?

What philosophical topic did Philodemus ponder in the texts?

What was the primary consequence of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD?

Which technology did Brent Seales use to study the scrolls without opening them?

What challenge did Seales and his team face while deciphering the scrolls?

What initiative was launched in March 2023 to help decode the scrolls?

What was the first word decoded from the ancient scrolls, and by whom?

How much was the 'First Letters Prize' for decoding the first word?

What was the intended outcome of the competition regarding the ancient scrolls?

Which student was NOT mentioned as part of the decoding competition?

Mount Vesuvius Eruption and Herculaneum Scrolls

Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, burying Pompeii and Herculaneum.
In 1752, researchers found over 1,800 papyrus scrolls in a Herculaneum mansion, preserved due to lack of oxygen during the eruption.
Attempts to unfold them mechanically damaged them, leading to the need for alternative methods.
In 2009, X-ray imaging, invented by Brent Seales, provided the way to image scroll contents without damage.

AI-Powered Scroll Deciphering

Seales developed an AI program to identify letters and symbols in the scrolls.
The project faced a complex task of deciphering hundreds of scrolls.
The Vesuvius Challenge was launched in March 2023 to enlist help from students and researchers around the world, using 3D X-ray images of scrolls and fragments as input.

Notable Achievements and Prizes

Luke Farritor (University of Nebraska) and Youssef Nader (Freie University, Germany) identified "porphyras" - the first words from ancient scrolls. Farritor earned $40,000 and Nader earned $10,000.
Farritor, Nader, and Julian Schillinger (Swiss student) deciphered 85% of the characters in four passages from a philosopher named Philodemus in October 2023, winning a $700,000 prize. This study also read an additional 15 partial columns of text.
This translates to roughly 5% of a scroll. These studies showed Philodemus pondered the impact of abundance on joy.

Ongoing Challenges and Motivations

Seales is actively working toward decoding an entire scroll within 2024.
A $100,000 prize was announced to the first team to decipher at least 90% of all four scrolls.
Seales underscores the historical importance of the scrolls, highlighting discussions on love, war, peace, and philosophical viewpoints. He emphasizes the human connection we share with ancient peoples.

Explore the fascinating history of the Mount Vesuvius eruption and its impact on Herculaneum and the ancient papyrus scrolls found there. Discover how advanced imaging techniques and AI are revolutionizing our understanding of these long-buried texts. Join the modern efforts to decipher the scrolls and learn about notable achievements in this field.